CTBUH Technical Paper

Transcription

1 CTBUH Technical Paper Subject: Paper Title: Architecture/Design, History, Theory & Criticism Image of Modern High-Rise Architecture Author(s): Korotich, Andrey V. 1 Affiliation(s): 1 UraINIIProject RAACS Publication Date: 2011 Original Publication: CTBUH Conference, Seoul. October 10-12, 2011 Paper Type: 1. Book chapter/part chapter 2. Journal paper 3. Conference proceeding 4. Unpublished conference paper 5. Magazine article 6. Unpublished Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat/Author(s)

2 _ TS20-04 TS20-04 Image of modern High-Rise Architecture Andrey V. Korotich UralNIIProject RAACS, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation. Abstract At present, the most difficult problems of High-Rise Construction are located in the sphere of High-Rise Buildings Artistic Image. All Tall Buildings may be subdivided into two categories. The majority of the erected, built and designed High-Rise Buildings of the world (approximately 97%) may be included into the category which called "Commercial Property", the principal philosophy of which is - minimum materials and finance and quick construction of the building, areas in which may be sold with maximum profit. In such case, the visual artistic Image of the erected building is the last and the least important factor for investor and owner. Such waning for visual Image of buildings and, accordingly, for the general Image of urban environment ideology has brought about the fact that High-Rise Construction as a whole, as architectural and building sphere, is strongly discredited and is perceived and estimated by the population extremely negatively, as a disharmonic and ugly product of our technocratic civilization, which is aggressively hostile towards the established centuries-old cultural and historical urban environment. Indeed, compositional and stylistic analysis of High-Rise Buildings in the modern large cities of Europe, America, South-Eastern and Central Asia, the Middle East and Australia shows that the majority of them present nothing of architectural and cultural significance, being compositionally rueful glass boxes, resembling, according to the very apt statement of Michael Graves, "as Refrigerators, exposed on the Street". A great number of Tall Buildings of all these cities look like usual dull and monotonous primitive economical glass boxes. 353

3 _ Figure 1. Many Tall Buildings look like dull and monotonous primitive economical glass boxes And only 3% of High-Rise Buildings may be determined by experts as Architectural Exclusive, representing high human artistic and cultural value. Now we can see only 30 or 35 such High-Rise Symbols in different countries around the world. High-Rise Buildings around the world are positioned as symbolic objects, however it is believed for some reason that the main value of a High-Rise Building is its height. We should remember that even the highest building in the world will remain as such only for some time; but the architectural Image of Tall Buildings, given by their external forms, will define the face of a city for many decades. The High-Rise Buildings are built not to withstand strong winds or earthquakes, be energy efficient, fireproof, ecological, interactive/ intellectual, comfortable and structurally rational - today this is a set of their obligatory technical and functional parameters, which ensure a high level of quality of life. The main thing why High-Rise Buildings are built is their unique symbolic architecture impressing with their artistic perfection and allowing the building to last centuries as a cultural heritage of our civilization. In such cases the image of High-Rise Architecture in the best examples goes far beyond the limits of the utilitarian purpose and functional quality of the buildings, which become symbols and national pride for entire cities and states. Even the price of land in modern-day large cities is a secondary factor. Architects and investors face the issue of upholding the dwindling Image of High-Rise buildings by erecting unique buildings as symbols of modern-day civilization. So, the best advertisement, popularization and promotion for High-Rise Construction is unique and attractive external Architecture of the High-Rise Buildings and Ensembles. The provision of the best Visual Ecology in each well-known large city- is the creation of an absolutely individual and iconic architectural-artistic Silhouette/Skyline with the possibility of keeping and using local national artistic traditions. These positions show the importance of placing Tall Buildings in the general context of technical, cultural and social developments of our civilization. However the existing organizational structure of CTBUH contains only eight working groups with clearly marked technical, legal and economic directionalities: -"Seismic-proof designing"; -"Balanced development"; -"Scientists, academicians and graduate students"; -"Progressing crushing"; -"Fire safety"; -"Legislative aspects of High-Rise Construction"; -"Financial & economic problems"; -"Wind loads designing". The value of constructive-technological and economic aspects of High-Rise Construction is absolutely obvious. But CTBUH still has no specialized international expert group that would ensure co-ordination and development with regard to different topical research areas and artistic directions of High-Rise Architectural Form Generation, including the essential requirements and principles of Visual Ecology, at Universities around the world. From our point of view it s a serious ideological mistake, which must be corrected as soon as possible. Another important problem in sphere of High-Rise Architecture is defence of authors rights of creative conceptualists. Loud well-known precedents must be published and researched by CTBUH Committee of Professional Ethics. Architects of "Korotich Design Group" and specialists of Laboratory of Architectural Shapeforming of Institute «UralNIIproject» of Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Sciences have 354

4 _ been conducting research into the main issues of Architectural Form Generation for High-Rise Buildings since We have created a General Classification of Architectural Forms of the most interesting artistic solutions to High-Rise Buildings. This Classification is based on compositional structure and the geometrical shape of the external shell of these buildings. We subdivided thousands of Tall Buildings into 21 main groups. Figure 2. Main groups of Tall Buildings shapes Also we have studied the architectural features of the most important High-Rise Ensemblesmulti-building Complexes as the top of the Art of High-Rise Construction. 355

5 _ Figure.3. Complexes demonstrating the Art of High-Rise Construction KDG scientific and creative philosophy of Architectural Form Generation. -To combine plasticity and dynamic silhouette lines with regularity and symmetry of the whole composition. -To use well-known simple initial geometrical shapes with regular and symmetrical structure as a compositional basis for creating new artistic expressive, attractive and unique architectural forms of objects. -To refrain from using geometrical shapes with irregular and unsymmetrical complex structure. -To invent and develop new actual geometrical and physical methods of High-Rise Architectural Form Generation which are based on crystallographic, fractal and torsion principles of Shape-forming. Novelty and Perfection of forms of modern Architecture can and must be obtained by using wellknown simple initial geometrical shapes with regular and symmetrical structure. The social priority of our work is Visual Ecology. We are trying to change the usual perception and ordinary sensation of life, eliminate psychological stresses, negative moods, feelings and emotions from dull and monotonous cities by project proposals of conceptually new Architecture with new potential of artistic expression. Finally, as a practical result of our scientific researches we have invented more than 1500 new expressive architectural forms (among them more than 115 have been patented)- it s our Golden intellectual Fund. The principal point of our innovative philosophy is permanent expansion of the preformed catalogue of different abstract architectural shapes with high potential of artistic expression, called «Compositional Matrices». Based on Clients choice and approval, these Compositional Matrices may be immediately installed, inscribed and adapted to an exact urban situation in different areas of the world. 356